Monthly Archives: November 2021

Ordinary, Scones

Rousay’s Cafe

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Today we are at Torwood Garden Centre just a couple of miles from home. Doggy afternoon tea at Rousay's CafeThey have a huge Blossoms Restaurant which we have visited several times. We hadn’t realised though that Blossoms had a separate dog coffee shop called Rousay’s Cafe. Rousay was the owner’s border terrier. You can get ‘pupcakes’. and even an afternoon tea. All made with dog friendly ingredients.

Now we would normally steer well clear of anywhere there are lots of dogs but on this occasion we could only see one. And it looked quite friendly. They also had scones so in the interests of diversity, inclusion and all that sort of stuff, we thought you might like us to review a dog cafe. Woof, our dedication knows no bounds!External view of Rousay's Cafe

Confusion

There was no afternoon tea on offer for mere humans so a sandwich for lunch followed by a scone was the order. The two lovely ladies behind the counter were desperately trying to operate in a space designed for one. There was much confusion … especially at the till. Eventually we got our sandwiches and they said they would bring our tea and coffee to the table. They did, but not until we were finished our lunch. No idea what was going on but neither, of course, did they. We wondered if we had sat up and begged with our tongues out would it have come quicker? It did arrive in time for our scone, however, so all was not lost. We were the only customers left by then, goodness knows what happens when they get busy.Internal view of Rousay's Cafe

Happy pooches

Our scone was surprising good. Not the crunchy exterior we normally like. It was sort of soft all over but rather pleasant nevertheless. It came with little pots of jam and cream. No topscone here. However, we know how daft people can get about their dogs so we’re sure they’ll really appreciate this place and will happily overlook deficiencies as long as their pooch is happy. Not for us though.

Internal view of Rousay's Cafe
Is this sort of place supposed to fill you with joy?
Disinvited

What is it with Boris? Just as we were pledging to stop carping on about him (it had become too easy) he goes and does it again! Defending the indefensible in his own party, loosing the place in a speech to the CBI and jabbering on about Peppa Pig World. Then getting the British delegation disinvited from the EU emergency talks on stopping immigrants crossing the Channel. Mind you, last year more people left the UK than came in so shortly we might be advertising for immigrants! Now he is belatedly introducing face masks again in England because of the the new Omicron variant … but not in hospitality? C’mon Boris, give us a break! There are plenty others we would like to criticise but you keep hogging all the really ludicrous stuff for yourself!

FK5 4EG         tel: 01324 553152         Rousay’s

///unstated.solving.roofs

Scones, Top

Dakota Edinburgh

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It’s ten years since we were last here. Back then we were staying here for our daughter’s wedding which was held at nearby Hopetoun House. This time we were just on our way to the airport to do a pick-up. From the outside Dakota Edinburgh looks like a rather austere black box but inside it’s opulent interior tells a completely different story.

Internal view of Dakota Hotel
the Bar/Grille

It’s the creation of Ken McCulloch and his wife, interior designer Amanda Rosa. In the past they have been responsible for such iconic places as One Devonshire Gardens in Glasgow, the Columbus Hotel in Monaco and the Malmaison hotel group.

A shaggy dog sculpture at Dakota Hotel
This  had us fooled for a minute. Just a life size ornament!

More recently they made the first  Dakota Deluxe Hotel in Glasgow and now there are three in Scotland and two in England. Why Dakota? The name was inspired by the revolution that took place after the first flight of the Dakota airliner between New York and Chicago in 1936. It provided sophisticated style and impeccable service at prices people could afford. That’s what this place is all about. But could they provide a half decent scone? That was the question on everyone’s lips. Okay, maybe not everyone!

It all kicked off beautifully when they came to explain that their scones were all made to order so it might take a wee while. No problem, we weren’t going anywhere and we had to get rid of a light lunch in the meantime. A scone at Dakota HotelWhen they did arrive it was all presented as you would expect at the Dakota. A little bowl of clotted cream, an individually wrapped pat of butter and a pot of jam for each scone.  But, of course, it’s all in the tasting. No disappointments here, they were delicious. Lovely and warm with that slightly crunchy exterior we are so fond of. No hesitation … topscone!

What would they give?

Sometimes on our scone adventures it makes us ponder on how fortunate we are. While we sit here in the lap of luxury there are fathers loading their families into tiny rubber boats to try and sail across the Channel. Families at the Belarus/Polish border that have travelled from the Middle East and Africa in search of a better life and are left freezing and hungry. Unable to go forwards or backwards. It’s hellish. By comparison we lead completely charmed lives. Do we feel guilty? Not personally but it’s hard to escape the fact that our wonderful Britain has usually played a major role in creating the misery from which these poor folks are trying to escape. What would they give for a scone at Dakota?Internal view of Dakota Hotel

Discretionary?

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Dakota Edinburgh even though it’s not exactly the cheapest … £13 for two coffees and two scones. The only downside came when a 10% ‘discretionary’ service charge was added to the bill. A candle at Dakota HotelPresumably because it’s ‘discretionary’ you can ask for it to be removed but how many people do that? There’s a note at the bottom of the bill saying it will be passed on to the staff. Is this an admission that they don’t pay the staff enough? The service we received was excellent but we would prefer they didn’t do it this way. Just saying! But then we remember, with our charmed lives, that we actually have absolutely nothing to complain about.

EH30 9QZ        tel: 0131 319 3690      Dakota Hotel

///lifts.kind.unlocking

Scones, Top

Fletcher’s

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Well, we have barely recovered from the tarts at the Original Maids of Honour in London and here we are back in Scotland doing a bit of scone foraging. We are at Fletcher’s in Stirling for afternoon tea. The first thing you notice is the building itself. It’s impressive for a restaurant but when you learn that it was originally the Bank of Scotland it starts to make sense. Most of the banks had very expensive elaborate buildings at one time but now they have almost all been given over to pubs and coffee shops. A sign of the times perhaps. Some people lament this change however not having been in a bank for more than thirty years  we are at least partly to blame.  That said, we have been in quite a few old bank buildings but for scones. In our eyes this is progres!Internal view of Fletchers

Anyway this is a family run business and has only been going for a year or so. Previously it was called Cook’s. It has seven bedrooms and a seventy cover restaurant so it’s no small affair. 

A long way to come

A glass of bubbles set us up nicely for whatever was to follow. It all came rather nicely presented in a traditional cake stand bedecked in flowers …. nice touch. Afternoon tea at FletchersYou all know by now that we aren’t fans of big scones in an afternoon tea. By the time you’ve eaten the sandwiches a couple of large scones is the last thing you need. We needn’t have worried, the scones were some of the smallest we have ever come across. Needless to say everything was first class and the scones had a superb crunchiness which we like. Even the cream, the ubiquitous Rhodda’s was very nice though it would have been nice if it had been a little more local than Cornwall. Hey, is this not what they are going on about in COP26? Transporting stuff for hundreds or even thousands of miles for no good reason.Scones at Fletchers

Scandal

This is the last day of COP26. World leaders have come and gone. Grandiose statements have been made but little real progress has been made. Scotland lost part of its soil – officially designated UN territory for the duration of the event. The UK also made a shocking discovery. Not only does it have a blithering idiot as its PM but a corrupt blithering idiot to boot. Was anyone surprised? The Tory scandals surrounding Owen Paterson and Geoffrey Cox have diverted attention from COP26 to the point where the PM had to stand up in front of 196 countries and deny that the UK was corrupt … brilliant!

A highland cow at Fletchers
hair by Boris

Anyway, in spite of our cream having come a long long way to land on our scones, Fletcher’s got a well deserved topscone.  Great to see a bank being used for something worthwhile.

 

FK8 2DT      tel: 01786 478297       Fletcher’s

///boxer.amount.latest

Scones, Top

Newens, The Original Maids of Honour

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Now, if anyone thinks there is anything such as a benign dictatorship, think again. You only have to look back to Henry VIII to see what can happen. While these desperados creat havoc and destroy people’s lives they also have sycophants fawning over them for fear of losing their own position … or even their heads. This innocent little tale of a scone from Newens, The Original Maids of Honour in Kew will help illustrate the point and educate those of you who are not already familiar with tarts.

We are in London for a combined wedding anniversary/house warming party … it was quite a bash! After everything had calmed down we thought we should take a couple of our granddaughters and educate them in the art of scone and tart appreciation. Internal view of Newens Original Maids of Honour, KewNewens was only a couple of short bus rides away but when the children related their adventure later, it was 750 buses.

High Tea

Cakes at Newens Original Maids of Honour, Kew
If Henry VIII had walked in it would definitely have been “off with their heads”

First impressions are very definitely of a genteel quintessentially English tearoom. A sort of hang out for blue rinse ladies and probably not the best sort of environment for a pair of scallywags. We ordered ‘high tea’ for two at £18 per person. It turned out to be more like what we would call ‘afternoon tea’ at home. We are in the madness they call London so perhaps such things are to be expected. More than that they also had ‘The Special Taster Set Tea‘  at £35 per person, the Champagne Set Tea, the Prosecco Set Tea, the Savoury Set Tea as well as the Maids of Honour Afternoon Tea. Gosh, we may have to go back! So what is all this Maids of Honour stuff anyway?

HR departments

For that we have to return to Henry VIII. Apparently when he was married to Anne Boleyn he walked in one day to find Anne and her maids of honour tucking in to some little tarts that one of the maids had baked. He tasted one and found it so delicious he decided they should be made exclusively for him. So instead of chopping Anne’s head off right away and promoting the maid to wife … or even Queen, he imprisoned the maid so that she could bake tarts just for him. The recipe was locked away in an iron box in Richmond Palace. Anne’s head would have to wait a while until it could be detached. Heads of HR departments all over the world may be squirming at the moment however Henry would doubtless have topped them as well.

Choosing cakes at Newens Original Maids of Honour, Kew
difficult choices

Eclair truffle and tart

One of the features of our High Tea was that you had to go next door to the bakery shop and pick your preferred cake. One of our young granddaughters chose a chocolate eclair and the other a chocolate truffle. I of course had to have the Maids of Honour tart. Before all that, of course, there was the sandwiches and scones. All washed down with as much tea as you could drink. As expected, it was all very good. The scones were deliciously soft, not crunchy like we usually prefer but somehow they were still good enough for our top award.

And what of the Maids of Honour tarts? Well, obviously the recipe has escaped from its strongbox in the Palace and somehow found its way to Newens. We hope we are not putting ourselves at risk by disclosing it here though Newens still keep their recipe secret. They are delectable little crisp puff pastry wonders with a filling of squidgy cheese and lemon curd. Fan-dabby-dozy … we could easily understand why Henry got a bit carried away!Old staff photo at Newens Original Maids of Honour, Kew

COP26

We wonder what Henry VIII would make of the COP26 summit starting today in Glasgow. It stands for the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties and will see over 400 private jets flying in as well as all all the other flights. They will produce more climate warming gas than the whole of Scotland in a year. Not an auspicious start. Well known climate sceptic Boris, or should it be Borax, will be there blabbering away pretending to be a dyed in the wool greenie. Over 190 countries will be represented though not the host country. Scotland not invited … ask Borax! With all the disruption it’s causing they better come up with something worthwhile but it may take Henry with his great big axe to concentrate minds!

TW9 3DU     tel: 020 8940 2752    Newens Bakery

///supply.strain.liked